A journal tends to create the person rather than the person creates a journal. This is because it is in reflection that we discover what we think and know about ourselves.

Journaling builds a life from the outside and there does not have to be a blueprint. The act is enough and serves to bring us towards whatever we find interesting, or of note. Whether at night, when things are still, or at some random hour amongst the bustle of the day. We may come to find ourselves more interesting, or find we are just as excruciating as we thought.

Reflecting on experience gives us a viewpoint to understand what we take pleasure in, who we take pleasure in, and why we take pleasure in these things. The necessity of thought colours our world; we know something of our interests; what compels our attention. If we chose to write, we are forming a relationship with ourselves that we can look back on.

Writing a diary at any period of life is always a very useful tool to reflect and keep track of our thoughts and details that are important to each of us and that we do not want to forget.

In stressful times such as the period of socially distancing and self-quarantine caused by the coronavirus pandemic, writing and journaling also becomes a very powerful tool to help us work through emotions and care for our mental health.

Sitting at home watching Netflix may not feel like you’re doing much, but you’re actually living through a major historical event that people will learn and talk about for generations after this is all over. Writing a journal will help you not just preserve your memories but will also help you process your feelings about this time.

We are living through a historic time, and by journaling, you can preserve a first-hand account of it.

There’s little value in going through experiences, both good and bad, if you can’t learn from them. So, whether you totally nailed a client meeting or totally stumbled through a presentation, don’t forget to take note of the lesson.

By writing down what you’ve been through, noting what worked and what didn’t, and analyzing what might help you in the future, you’ll set yourself up for much greater professional success.

A private, a daily record of your experiences and observations at work, is an unexpectedly great way to help you work through issues, analyze where you’re at in your job, and grow in your career.

Keeping a regular work diary, which took no more than ten minutes a day, gives you a new perspective on yourself as professional and what you need to improve.

One of the most satisfying feelings is the feeling of making progress.

In fact, not completing tasks occupies your mind: You seem unable to forget tasks you’ve started but haven’t completed. Completing small tasks frees up the cognitive resources you need to tackle other activities.

Our brains are wired to seek completion. When you recognize a task as complete, your brain releases dopamine, which makes you feel good and makes you want to repeat the behaviour again to feel more pleasure.

What this means is that we are predisposed to focus on tasks that we can complete quickly, rather than long-term projects that take a long time to finish. We like the feeling of checking things off our list, and we like to see progress.

A habit and task tracker is a simple way to measure what you did and it can make you feel more satisfied by providing clear evidence of your progress.

Small Wins are a sum of steps that will lead you to your main goals (Big Wins).

These Small Wins recognition can get unnoticed due to the high-paced routine involved on a daily basis, thus, making us perceive Big Win goals further than ever.

But, even on the worst work day ever, you can find some small glimmer of hope and progress to focus on.

So, at the end of the day, note down your achievements for the day. Moreover, once a small win has been accomplished, forces are set in motion that favor another small win.

When you pay attention to these daily small wins, your strengths and talents come more clearly into view and you see patterns in how you should approach your work and your life.

This will aid to perceive the goals categorized as Big Wins to not be as far as it seems thanks to constantly acknowledging the Small Wins.

One of the aspects of journaling that makes it so effective is that writing in your journal can be a “keystone” habit that helps you focus your energy and attention on where it will be most effective.

You can’t fix everything in your life all at once, and trying to start good habits and stop bad habits in the span of a day will likely lead to failure.

Real, positive change happens when you take on only what you can handle; often, changing one important or keystone habit will have ripple effects that improve your life and get you closer to your goals in other areas as well.

Journaling is one such habit; it can keep you centered, help you identify your strengths and weaknesses, give you an opportunity for reflection and self-analysis, and much, much more. Simply keeping a record of your thoughts, feelings, and actions can have a surprisingly big impact on your life.

So many things to do, so little time to do them. But life becomes a bit less overwhelming when all its tasks and responsibilities are written down in some sort of order.

Consider keeping separate to-do lists for various activities such as a work list and a home/family list, or a short-term and a long-term list. Other options are shopping, personal workout, topics to research, and so on.

Giving each topic a separate list prevents the places to visit from getting lost on a page full of reminders like "clean the car" and "make dentist appointment."

To avoid endless to-do lists, aim for less than 15 to maintain your focus and better prioritize the tasks that truly matter. Focus on early due dates, don’t postpone difficult chores, and try to finish at least one task daily.

A Done List is a log of what you’ve accomplished during the day.

Your Done List is more important than your To Do List. A Done List is a way to visualize what you actually get done as opposed to just what you plan to do. To Do Lists make you feel bad. A Done List has the opposite effect — it makes you feel good.

A Done List demonstrates progress. Every time you make progress, you’re also communicating a message to yourself and others: I’m capable. I’m productive. I can do this.

Keeping a Done List will help you form healthy habits that boost your mood, health, and productivity.

With a Done List, you have a big picture of your days, which allows you to appreciate the little things in life.

Gone are the days that humans can remember everything they need to know and do.

Writing things down is a simple yet powerful way to record anything and everything that has your attention and therefore have access to them whenever necessary.

If you keep a journal and regularly write down your thoughts and feelings, you’ll soon have a record of your experiences that you might otherwise have forgotten.

Reading back through this record is not just fascinating—it also provides a valuable insight into your thought process and emotional life.

Making time to write down certain things, such as our daily experiences, our goals, and our mental clutter can change the way we live our lives.